The characteristic of a particular gasoline blend to resist igniting too early (which causes knocking and reduces efficiency in reciprocating engines) is measured by its octane rating. Gasoline is produced in several grades of octane rating. Tetraethyllead and other lead compounds are no longer used in most areas to regulate and increase octane-rating, but many other additives are put into gasoline to improve its chemical stability, control corrosiveness and provide fuel system 'cleaning,' and determine performance characteristics under intended use. Sometimes, gasoline also contains ethanol as an alternative fuel, for economic or environmental reasons.

Petrol (song)

"Petrol" is a song by Ash, released as the second single from their 1994 album Trailer, and their first single on Infectious. It was released on 15 August 1994 on CD and a limited 7" format. Only 500 copies of the 7" format were released, and came with a numbered picture sleeve. The song reached number 3 in the UK Indie Chart in 1994.

The song was released in the U.S. as a 7" single in 1994 on the Generator Records label, with a remixed version of "Petrol" by Ben Groose.

"Petrol" was first recorded on the "Garage Girl" demo tape, and later appeared on Ash's debut live album, "Live at the Wireless", and again on Ash's first greatest hits collection "Intergalactic Sonic 7″s". The song is said to be about being "lynched" by a gang.

B-sides

The B-side, "The Little Pond" first appeared on the "Garage Girl" demo-tape. Tim Wheeler has expressed his dissatisfaction with this recording, and has even mentioned re-recording it as an acoustic b-side on a future album.

The second B-side, "A Message From Oscar Wilde and Patrick the Brewer" is a spoken-word track, lasting just 30 seconds, and consists of an excerpt of a tape Tim was sent, consisting of two of his Dutch friends, Oscar and Patrick, talking to each other. This track also appears on the "Cosmic Debris" B-sides collection and on Ash's debut album "Trailer".

Duende (art)

Duende or tener duende ("having duende") loosely means having soul, a heightened state of emotion, expression and authenticity, often connected with flamenco. The artistic and especially musical term was derived from the duende, a elf or goblin-like Magic creature in Spanish mythology.

Origins of the term

El duende is the spirit of evocation. It comes from inside as a physical/emotional response to art. It is what gives you chills, makes you smile or cry as a bodily reaction to an artistic performance that is particularly expressive. Folk music in general, especially flamenco, tends to embody an authenticity that comes from a people whose culture is enriched by diaspora and hardship; vox populi, the human condition of joys and sorrows. Drawing on popular usage and Spanish folklore, Federico García Lorca first developed the aesthetics of Duende in a lecture he gave in Buenos Aires in 1933, "Juego y teoria del duende" ("Play and Theory of the Duende").